Due to the increasing popularity of mobile computing, various types of computing devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, electronic tablets, etc., are ubiquitously present in various environments such as business meetings, theaters, restaurants, and other social or business environments. Computing devices are capable of emitting loud sounds, such as ringing, buzzing, beeping, etc., which can be annoying and disruptive to individuals within the vicinity of a given social or business setting. While device manufacturers often include various ways for users to control or adjust output settings of their computing devices (e.g., muting, decrease volume, etc.), the users typically forget to mute or otherwise adjust the output settings of their computing devices to comply with known socially acceptable norms for the given social setting (e.g., mute the audio output of a mobile phone in a movie theater).
In other instances, a user may not readily appreciate what the socially acceptable norm is for the output settings of the user's computing device in a given environment. In such instances, a given user can become aware of the social norm for the output settings of their device by viewing the actions of others. For example, one or more users in the vicinity of a given business or social setting may be seen (by other users) adjusting their computing devices (e.g., muting or decreasing audio output), which then prompts such other users to check and/or adjust the output settings of their computing devices accordingly. However, reliance on compliance with socially acceptable norms for output settings based on viewing the actions of others is problematic for various reasons. For example, users may have already adjusted their settings prior to entering a given business or social environment. In addition, the actions of certain users in adjusting their device output settings may not be visible or apparent to other users (e.g., it may appear that a given user is muting the audio setting of the user's computing device while the given user is actually unmuting the audio setting).